Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Only Tax Payers Should Vote

According to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, 51 percent of American households pay no federal income tax. They may pay some taxes on gasoline, tobacco, and alcohol—and they pay their Social Security contributions. But the majority of Americans do not pay any of the taxes that fund our national priorities—national defense, homeland security, welfare, education, foreign aid, and so forth.

America is drowning in debt. Taxpayers are demanding fiscal responsibility—but our leaders won't listen. What's the solution? This may sound like a radical idea, but our fiscal emergency demands radical intervention: Only those who pay taxes should be allowed to vote. Only those with "skin in the game" should be allowed to choose our representatives.

Some critics would say that this idea is an attack on the poor. Nonsense. I would disallow the non-taxpayingrich from voting as well—and from buying influence through lobbying. There are more non-taxpaying rich Americans than you might suppose—such as L.A. Dodgers owner Frank H. McCourt Jr., a multimillionaire who paid no federal or state income taxes from 2003 to 2008, according to the Los Angeles Times.

There are those who would argue that everyone should have a right to vote—it's only fair! But is it fair for one group of citizens to vote to take the private property of other citizens? Is it fair for the beggar to vote himself a steak and lobster dinner at his neighbor's expense?

To those who still think this idea is unfair, let me pose this question: Are you seriously telling me that 51 percent of Americans are poverty-stricken? Almost 90 percent of American households subscribe to cable or dish TV services. If they can afford hundreds of dollars per year for entertainment, they can certainly afford to become shareholders in our republic.